What is SEM, and why do I need an expert?
Here at GMT, we pride ourselves on helping small to medium businesses with their Search Engine Marketing. But what is SEM, and more importantly, why do you need a professional to help? Good question!
SEM is the practice of using digital marketing to increase the visibility of your website in search engine result pages (SERPs). Generally, this is done through ‘pay per click’ (PPC) advertising.
If you’ve ever noticed those little ads that appear at the top of Google’s search results when you type in a phrase or product, that’s what we’re referring to.
PPC & Keywords
These are AdWords adverts, and they’re created through the use of specific ‘keywords’. For example, say you own a Burleigh based camping business and you want to get people to purchase your waterproof jackets… By typing keywords into your AdWords account – tailored to your location and the specific product – you can target and draw customers who are in the ready-to-buy phase of their Google searching.
An example of some keywords you might use, could be:
- Waterproof jackets gold coast
- Waterproof jackets burleigh heads
However, before you start choosing keywords you first need to engage in comprehensive research to find out which ones will work best for your advert. This process is easier said than done, and believe me – you don’t want to guess your way through it. After all, the last thing you want to be doing is wasting your business’ money on ineffective PPC ads. Remember, each time a person clicks on your advert, you pay a certain amount of money – make sure you know what you’re doing.
Quality SEM Scores
When it comes to your Google AdWords campaign, another vital aspect to an excellent SEM campaign is to ensure you have high quality scores. Rated out of 10, this is a score given by Google, ranking your ad keywords to the relevancy of a users’ Google search query.
Why is this important?
Basically, the higher quality your score, the more you drive down your costs; allowing search engines to create lower minimum bids for your ad whilst retaining best exposure.
Contrary to what you may think, spending more on your keyword bidding doesn’t automatically mean that your ad will rank higher. As the below table demonstrates, the ranking position of your advert depends more on it’s ‘quality score’ than the amount of money.
Source: wordstream
As you can see, this isn’t something you want to get wrong – as it can result in you paying higher costs for adverts that aren’t even being seen. One common mistake that small to medium sized businesses often make, is not understanding the relationship between their landing pages and their ads.
For example, when a user types in a Keyword and then clicks on your ad (triggered in response), they should be directed to a landing page that also contains that keyword. If you’ve set this up correctly, Google will deem your landing page to be a good match, and consequently, boost your quality score. However, if your landing page isn’t relevant to your keyword and ad campaign…uh-oh – your Google score goes down.
The world of SEM is a complex and wonderful one, but as you can see, it’s also one that requires a lot of expertise and knowledge.
If you’re ready to move onto the next stage of your marketing and ensure your business is attracting as many leads as possible, give our expert team a call today on 1300 332 256